Here's another MOMS Help 911 consideration in my mini-series which started here.
Maire Fahey, editor of Prima, said: "In the 1980s, we thought we could have it all and aspired to high-flying careers and happy families. But the cracks are starting to show. Family life is suffering and something has got to give."
6 million moms leave the work force . . . The stats on stay-at-home moms are up! In 2004, 6 million moms felt the effects of the cracks and left the work force to return home to care for their children. These moms made major life transitions shifting priority to home and family. That one decision, by these 6 million moms, will effect the next two generations as they bring a sense of structure, security and stability to the once fractured family.
Whether a working mom, a stay-at-home mom or a work-at-home mom, being a mom is one of the most glorious, difficult, rewarding and yet taxing jobs a woman can do and my heart goes out to the mom who finds she must work outside the home. Recently, I read at Pew Research, that most moms don't want to work, at least full time.
Making home a priority . . .
Stoking the flames that keep the home front fires burning requires time, energy and making home a priority. Keeping the flames burning and creating a home that is a sanctuary requires that a woman understand the immense value of home and her role in the home as well as that of learning how to love, listen and feed her husband.
The Rebbe says that the home should become a light that illuminates the entire street and community. A woman at home is that light.
Making adjustments . . .
Every mom that shifts from working mom to stay-at-home mom goes through some major adjustments. There is the adjustment to one income, where needs and wants get clarified and budgets get re-analyzed. I, personally, delight in hearing just how many moms put an apron on and discover the joy of menu planning and cooking for their families.Another adjustment for moms is that of being the full time nurturer of their children, where as before a little one would have been dropped off at a day care center for the majority of the day.
Making time . . .
How much time do stay-at-home moms spend with their children? What value does a mom place on being the primary nurturer of her children to train their hearts God-ward and leave a good and godly legacy to the next generation? And, who better than a mom, can know and train the heart of a child?
Moms, spend 3/4 of the time with children, and are the ones who do most of the training, instructing, correcting and nurturing and yet it's wisdom when she recognizes and respects the role and responsibility that the father has and it's wisdom when she seeks his advice, guidance and leadership in making any training decisions. The one who spends the majority of time with a child is the one that will be the heart influencer/trainer of a child.
Comparatively with working moms, I read recently (according to the Office for National Statistics UK) that a working mom spends 19 minutes per day with her children.
Getting organized . . .
At home moms need to be just as organized and on-purpose as when they were working outside the home. Most moms find they have more energy to order and structure their days making their children a priority focus.
Taryn Zier, in her article, A new stay-at-home mom settles into a rewarding routine, says she imposes more structure into her day.
Mom movement of entrepreneurs . . .mom-preneurs . . .
Stay-at-home moms are not only making home and family priority, but they are learning to embrace their creativity and harness their passions in innovating ways to generate income adding to the family pot in a variety of ways.
Many blog moms contract in partnership with Affiliates such as Connect Commerce also known as Double Click Performics or Commission Junction that house stores such as Franklin Covey, K-Mart, Barnes and Nobles, Kohls, Sears, Sur la Table.
Blog moms also partner with Affiliates such as Kathy's Online Meals, Cashcrate, Beeutiful, Click here to become a LinkShare Affiliate!, Auction Ads, Ad Clicks, Adsense.
Money Advice has a post worth reading. Different Affiliates require different applications for site or blog approval. Other blog writing moms, such as myself, have turned their passion for writing or speaking into practical and helpful e-books - our audio cds . . . all from the kitchen table.
Other stay-at-home moms are making it happen as e-moms, it-moms and dot-moms. According to Time Magazine, mompreneurs, as they have come to be known, have created an endless variety of kid-inspired products--motherhood, apparently, being the mother of invention.
Moms helping moms . . ."Technology and changing attitudes have made it easier to create home-based businesses", says Victoria Colligan, founder of Ladies Who Launch. Moms, such as Janice and Susan at 5 Minutes for Mom are providing resources for ouentrepreneurial moms to make money. Moms such as myself and my friend, Linda Fox are moms helping moms be better moms as Lifecoachmoms.com.
Along with my own passions for the home, my friends Lindsay at Passionate Home Making and Stephanie at Keeper of the Home are challenging moms to learn new ways to LOVE their homes and create sanctuary.
Other fabulously creative blog moms inspire creativity in the home like my new friend, Melissa who inspires sanctuary with in her Inspired Rooms.
Many moms are deal seeking moms, coupon craving moms, money saving moms who find free mascara! And, then there are the mom's who give advice on freebies and product reviews and others give advice on relationship issues. This kingdom first mom has a super cool coupon binder. Twin moms blog, design moms who kirtsy blog, frugal moms who live upstate blog.
Time Magazine also reported that a study has been done by the nonprofit Center for Women's Business Research, stating that women are starting new businesses at twice the rate of men and own a 50% or greater stake in 10.6 million U.S. businesses.
Thinking with the end in mind . . .
In the end, it's not going to matter how much money you made, or what kind of sanctuary you created out of your home or if you were an e-mom, a dot-mom, or a mom who just loved a more simple life.
It won't matter how perfectly organized you were, how business savvy you were, or how gourmet your meals were. What matters is if you've loved. What matters is if you've lived a life of love today.
If a woman doesn't know that she's loved, it will be difficult for her to love. If a woman doesn't fully understand that she's been wonderfully created in the Image of God as the crown of His creation, it will be difficult for her to freely love. Life goes by too quickly and what will matter most is if you've loved, and lived today knowing that you were on-purpose, fulfilling your life-design mission while loving God and loving others.
MOM Help 911 - Shoutn' Out
http://lylahledner.blogspot.com/2008/07/heres-another-moms-help-911.html
